Alright so today I got super curious about that famous 2010 Netherlands team, you know? The one that almost won the whole World Cup. Figured I’d actually look up the full roster myself instead of just remembering bits and pieces. Just gonna write down how it went.
Starting Simple: Wikipedia Route
First thing I did was what everyone does – popped “Netherlands 2010 World Cup squad” into Google. Clicked the Wikipedia link, pretty basic move. Scrolled down to the squad list section.
Okay, recognized the big names instantly:
- Van Persie upfront
- Sneijder running the midfield
- Robben on the wing making defenders sweat
- The captain Van Bronckhorst
- De Jong and Van Bommel being absolute walls in the middle
Brain was like: yep, that checks out. Those guys were monsters that tournament.
Hitting the Memory Wall
But then came the guys I kinda forgot about. Scanning that list:
- Goalkeepers: Stekelenburg was number one, obviously. But then… Boschker and Vorm? Man, my brain totally erased Boschker. Had to think real hard. “Who was the third keeper again?” Nada. Blank.
- Defenders: Heitinga, Mathijsen, solid. Boulahrouz? Right, the Cannibal. Braafheid? Oh yeah, the left-back who came outta nowhere. And Ooijer, the old warrior off the bench.
- Midfield: Afellay made it! But then I completely forgot Schaars was even on the plane. Whoops. And De Zeeuw – totally thought he was a backup option earlier.
- Forwards: Besides RVP and Robben, Kuyt was essential workhorse. Huntelaar was the super sub. But… Elia made it? Wait, did he even play much? My memory got fuzzy fast.
The Curious Case of Missing Stars
This made me wonder who didn’t make Bert van Marwijk’s final 23. Went digging a bit deeper. Oh man! Van der Vaart? Huge name! But the midfield was stacked with Sneijder, De Jong, Van Bommel… makes sense Rafa didn’t start, but him being a backup option felt weird.
Then I remembered the injuries. Felt bad for Engelaar – broke his leg right before. And Babel? Hurt his ankle super close to the finals. That explained why he wasn’t there. Gutted for them.
Alright, Final Picture Clear
After bouncing around tabs and digging up names I hadn’t thought about in ages, the whole roster finally clicked again. It was a proper mix:
- Insane top-tier talent (Sneijder, Robben, RVP)
- Super solid core guys (Van Bommel, De Jong, Gio, Stekelenburg)
- Useful role players (Kuyt, Boulahrouz, Mathijsen)
- Promising young ones who barely played (Elia)
- And backups we kinda forgot existed (Boschker)
Biggest takeaway? That squad had crazy spine strength and mentality. Built different. Reaching the final wasn’t a fluke. They fought hard. Shame about that final though…
Also, feels like managers always leave out a big name or two, huh? Van der Vaart missing out still seems wild, even if the team got success.